By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE – With everyone on the outside doubting them, the Oak Mountain Eagles entered their Sweet 16 matchup against the top-ranked Huntsville Panthers on Tuesday, Feb. 13 hoping to shock the state, and for a while, the Eagles had their chance.
However, Oak Mountain couldn’t keep up down the stretch and the Panthers pulled away in the second half to win 56-38 in the Northeast Regional Semifinals at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.
“Just a great opportunity for us to be able to go out there and shock the world, shock the state, and dang it if we didn’t have a chance there for a little while,” Oak Mountain coach Joel Floyd said. “I’m just extremely proud of the guys.”
Huntsville looked every bit like the top team in the state in the early minutes of the game. The Panthers scored the opening 13 points of the game to take control.
However, Oak Mountain responded well with baskets from Christopher Kunard and Grey Williams and a pair of free throws by Gray Plaia to score 10 points in the first quarter.